Money and Economy 2-21-05

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I want everyone to be on the same page with what I'm thinking right now about spending money and the state of the economy. It's an important thing to save [money]because production is at it's highest level in years and the economy will keep on growing until it's satisfied. Once this happens, increased spending simply translates into higher prices. Inflation is created by money that becomes ineffective in driving jobs growth (among other factors) and this will cause the Fed to cut back the money supply to decrease consumption demand and shift spending to [long-term] investments.

What I'm asking you to do right now is to take the initiative and lower your spending because the money in your bank account is on loan to you from the Fed. That is, the nominal money supply is a temporary pool of funds that can dry up and which will dry up as soon as the economy reaches it's full potential and we begin to experience diminishing marginal returns.

> Please don't get frustrated with what I'm saying or how I'm saying it. There is not an easier way, just listen. Diminishing marginal returns means that you get less and less from your money or, specifically, the economy grows less and less with each dollar spent.

--> Think of it as a lions' cage at the zoo. You go see the keepers feed the lions at noon and of course those beasts have been kept hungry for a few days so they will be growling when the meat comes out. Have you seen what happens when that meat gets thrown into the cage? The lions growl loudly and aggressively tear the flesh apart.

This is what it is like in the economy when demand gets pent up (with high interest rates over time). The Fed releases liquidity from their vaults and the hungry economy just eats it up and grows... The thing is that once those lions are satisfied, the meat can be thrown into the cage, but the lions won't fight over it. In fact, they won't even go over there to pick it up; rather, they will just lie there and bask in the sun with full bellies while the meat rots. That is wasted meat and money represents the meat. Don't waste.

What I'm asking you to do is put off making any big purchases and limit your habitual consumption to a reasonable level to benefit the economy. This is asking you to sacrifice your own consumption for the greater good, I know. But it's not too much to ask because the proposition is less altruistic (benevolent, unselfish) than you might think. Saving will prosper you because when the funds dry up, you will have money rather than needing it and getting used by creditors who charge exorbitant interest rates on loans.

Don't get taken advantage of by creditors when you don't have money (-->ex: maxing out your cc @ 20% interest). Instead, save your money and loan it to others so that you can make more! You might be asking, well how can I loan to others, I'm not a bank? That's not a dumb question; you loan money anytime you buy stock, bond, mutual fund investments and the like. When you buy a bond, it is like loaning that face value over a set period of time (unless you sell it).

Do you want to know what separates the people who have money and those who don't? Do you want to know why 'those who have will always get more and those who don't will actually lose more'? The reason is that people who 'have' think ahead and plan for times when supplies run short. When supply is short, the opportunity cost of holding is high ~ you could be loaning it to others and making profits off the excess you're holding! And that's what they do. Now why don't you join the ranks of the 'monied classes' and start saving!

I'll get to specifics in a minute, but first I want to make a clear distinction. That is, don't think of your economic prosperity in terms of 'the economy'. (-->ex: I don't have money or a job right now becuase the economy is bad). The economy is not bad or good per se. It only fluctuates between high and low levels of growth. If you want to reduce uncertainty associatied with these 'cycles' then pay attention to your spending habits and save money to to do just that. It won't matter if the economy is in a high state of growth or a recession (God save us from another depression) because you have thought ahead and are ready for what comes.

Money is relative; people say that they could have better lives with a higher income, but this is not true (to an extent). Quality of life depends on what you can afford. This might seem like hair splitting, but I assure you it is not. You may afford much but choose not to consume in order to increase your options and assure that they remain open. At the same time, you may afford little but choose to consume all that you can, thereby reducing your options to a card game ~ you must be shrewd and conniving or else just play with the hand you are dealt. Please, don't just let the cards fall as they may. Save your money for a rainy day.

I have spoken with a friend recently and she had mentioned buying a new condo. I told her, yes that is great. I'm proud of you and that is the best direction (saving) you could possibly go. To be sure, borrowing is not the same as saving, but taking out a mortgage and building equity in a home is making an investment. This is quite possibly the most sound investment you can make.

For those of you with a house, keep on building equity which will stratify you in any case. If you haven't considered investing, you should look into it (you can buy mutual funds directly from any Wells Fargo ATM). While I don't consider myself at liberty to give advice on investing particulars just yet, I'd like to extend my idea of a good savings plan. I'll take just a minute more to explain a useful method.

Limit essential spending to 60%. This includes your mortgage (unless you are just starting out), car payment, insurance, groceries, vacations, dining out, etc. By saving as you are, you will be accomplishing three things:

1. Planning ahead for consumption when money is tight, thereby stabilizing your personal income cycles and reducing uncertainty.

2. Making money off your surplus when the money supply has been decreased because higher interest rates mean higher returns on your investments.

3. Stabilizing the business cycles in the economy ~ less spending in a period of full employment and nearly satiated goods/services markets equals less inflation or waste.



I don't want to beat a dead horse, here, but don't get caught in the age-old trap of gluttonous overspending when prosperity seems endless. It is not. Save your money rather than spending it so that you can avoid being reaped by creditors (-->ex: maxing out credit cards @ a 20% interest rate). Don't get steeped in debt! And if you already are, get out! And if you're laughing right now, just keep on laughing... it won't be funny later.



Here's a link that explains a proper savings plan. Click for further details. http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Learntobudget/P36153.asp

Jesus; Interest Rates 6-2-05

When I thought I would be a Loan Officer (things change):


Ladies and Gentlemen,

Finals are over and school has been out for over a week. I've been working with my friend, Sam on the peninsula. We sell Tempurpedic beds and OSIM massage chairs, as well as some other luxury therapeutic products. It's fun when people come in and have no idea what they want and I get to tell them all the facts as well as to direct them around the store. Some people have a plan and others just want to go shopping! Either way, it is fun to service people by showing them all the options and letting them decide for themselves what they want. It is easy to tell the facts to people and build rapport, but it is a challenge to close the deal. That's when the grit comes in.

I went into a local book store in Berkeley on two of my days off and I sat down in the business section under sales/marketing to find some material on the subject of sales. I spent a total of about 8 hours in those two days where I swallowed up two books and took notes using 3 x 5 notecards on the main ideas. To be sure, that is not considered a crime unless you have an extremely strict standard on the infringement of intellectual property rights. Ha ha ha. There were several interesting books and I bought one called "Getting Past No," by William Ury. He runs the program on Negotiation at Harvard Law school. Perhaps some of you have heard of him. In fact, Jon I'm pretty sure you are familiar with his work because I recognize that some of his topics are similar to what we learned in your IEOR 171 class.

I'm not even out of the Prologue yet, but the book says that the world is getting smaller and more integrated; we must cooperate in order to succeed/proceed. Negotiation is involved in every aspect of life from salesmanship to personal matters. The route we must take to finding solutions are both indirect and 'middle-of-the-road,' or value-based choices that can satisfy the interests of both parties. I'll give a rundown after I finish it, but I have been taking my sweet time reading it because there is so much good stuff. I read then re-read and go over it again.

I'm reading another book that is taking awhile called "The Purpose Driven Life." My Mom bought it for me and I'm glad she did. It is filled with every good thing you could imagine and there are so many treasures in there I've stopped counting. The book is about living a righteous life with Christ and it has been inspirational at least. At best, it is motivational. Speaking of motivation, Jesus was my source of calm during a period of great pressure and uncertainty. The finals season was rough this semester. I had taken 25 units (20 at Berkeley and 5 at the community college) in order to get myself through school in time to get into mortgage before interest rates start going up.

When I meet up with stress, I like to face it head-on like a champion, but sometimes the pressure is insurmountable. In that case, it's necessary to dive down then resurface. That sounds easy enough, but if the current is strong enough to keep me under for too long, then I'll drown! The weight of my workload was more than I could have handled on my own. This semester and especially during finals season, I became a close friend of Jesus! He gave me peace of mind to maintain and follow-through. When I was so tired that I could not read one more word or write any more lines or crunch any more numbers or memorize any more ideas, I got down on my knees and asked him to give me wings like an eagle so that I could soar. I ran but did not get tired, I walked, but did not falter. I begged him to pull me through to the other side and I promised I would lift him up.

Now I am fulfilling my promise. One of the reasons I have not written a word in the last two or three weeks has been because I was shy to bring this up. It is hard to talk about Christ the Lord because so much badmouthing goes on about him. Christians follow 'the way' to do what is right and to succeed on grounds of morality and virtue. There is only one way and that is through Him. It is hard to talk about the Lord because so many people have so many negative things to say about Him, but it is all hype from the impatient, intransigent, shiftless, and faithless. I know it sounds hypocritical that I should criticize unbelievers since I have been critical of their criticism. Ha ha ha. Yes I am a hypocrite. Please. Test me.

On that note, the new President of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank has just announced that we may be in the 8th inning of the tightening cycle ball game. For those of you who are not familiar with the game of baseball, there are nine innings before the game is over and there have been eight rounds of interest rate increases up to this point. When I heard this on public broadcast radio Wednesday night when I was driving home for work, I let out a loud yell that sounded like "Yahoo!" That means low interest rates, given steady rates of inflation, should continue indefinitely. In turn, Real Estate will continue to burn hot as home values soar with high levels of available credit. If I play my cards right, I will be able to take this opportunity and turn it into a manufacturing center of money creation --> savings.

I will live on the bare minimum as I sell every single damn thing and save almost all that I earn. This way, I save when the money flows and lend when the money is tight. I constantly make money whether the supply is short or long. My plan is to save for two years (if Real Estate makes a run that long) and start investing as the market drops. With faith in the US economy, I will be patient as prices plummet due to such factors as less available credit, lower productivity and less output, lower business and consumer confidence, et cetera. When the prices start falling, that's when the headwork begins. The computer lab is closing and I don't have much more time to talk about this, but basically, it's analyzation of the market based on precedence and potential. Fun stuff.

Enjoy yourselves. Hope the weather is great wherever you are. Let me know!

State of the Union 2-31-06

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I must pull myself away from typing practice for a moment to speak on some issues that are heating up and I'd like to get in a word before President George W. Bush speaks at the State of the Union Address (tonight at 9:15ET).

- - - - -

Samuel A. Alito will be sworn into the Supreme Court next to John G. Roberts. I mentioned in an email before the November 2004 Presidential election that Bush would not use a 'litmus test' for replacing a Supreme Court Justice. Well, there has definitely been a 'rightward shift' on the bench. Conservatives are pleased by what will entail a more traditional interpretation of the US Constitution. Make no mistake, decisions by the Supreme Court have had major effects on the direction of civil society. We will see a judicial branch which ascribes to: increasing executive power (i.e. the President will have more freedom to collect information), limiting a woman's choice to have an abortion (i.e. disallow women to abort a pregnancy after the third trimester), and otherwise providing America with more conservative underpinnings.

- - - - -

Iran will be reported to the U.N. Security Council in March by all six major industrialized countries (US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China) if it continues to defy the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), our U.N. watchdog. This is a pivotal moment in world affairs; these nations whom are perceived to have the greatest stake in a properly functioning and secure international political economy have aligned over security interests. Now let me issue a small caveat because therein lies a delicate interpretation:

--> Britain is an ally of sorts with whom we are obliged to reckon

--> France has nuclear weapons they are not afraid to use them

--> Germany doesn't want nuclear war and, as the largest economy of the EU, it will benefit from an international political economy that remains stable

--> Russia has just entered the world stage with energy (petrol, nat gas) and it doesn't want to jeapordize its influence by making a faulty political decision on such an order of magnitude

--> China is inextricably bound with the US in terms of Dollar-Yuan/Renminbi trade flows and securities holdings

- - - -

Quickly, I'd like to mention Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine. Although it may not come up today, it's important because Mid-East tensions are flaring and it has a lot to do with history, war, diplomacy, conflicting loyalties, and the like.

Since WWI, The U.S. has supported a Zionist state (Israel) located on the west bank of the Jordan River, a territory which includes Jerusalem, the holy city of all three Abrahamic faiths. Without going into a long history of World Wars and the 'passing-of-the-torch' debate, it is necessary and sufficient to explain that American intervention in the Mid-East is necessary to shore up a political vacuum which would otherwise exist.* (endnote 1)

In the eyes of 'public opinion,' it seems that Americans will continue to blindly support Israel without regard for the conflicting needs of both Jews and Muslims in the Mid-East. Hamas is an interest group which is decidedly against the occupation of Israel in Palestine (the territories overlap, in fact, I couldn't even provide the distinction b/w them if you asked me). The conflict lies in rhetoric. Bush has to make a choice, here.

Will we continue to support a Jewish state without regard to the needs of Islamic nationalists in the Middle East or will we make some compromise and be flexible in the boundaries which were established way back in the uncertain times of multi-polarity?* (endnote 2)

The Hamas leadership is not seeking to establish a Theocratic [Islamic] regime, rather, a pluralistic society with faith-based principles of tolerance and unity. Hamas is, indeed, an Islamic force pursuing self-determination. It seems like Hamas is being construed as some type of terrorist organization which we now must contend with in the Mid-East. Although I may be putting myself out on the line, here, I do not believe this is the case. Of course, it depends on your point-of-view.

Conservative rhetoric says, "We must back Israel at all costs." In my personal opinion, it is more realistic to state, "There is a problem, here. How do we define loyalty? And what are the repercussions of such doctrine espousal?"

- - - - -

Now for the economy, I stated in 'Jesus; Interest Rates,' (June 2005) that, according to market signals (i.e. Dallas Fed Gov. said we may be in the last round of the tightening cycle ball game...), "...low interest rates, given steady rates of inflation, should continue indefinitely." Furthermore, I went on to declare, "...[the] Real Estate [market] will continue to burn hot as home values soar with high levels of available credit." At the time, it seemed this interpretation was a fair chart for a course that would play itself out over the next 1-2 years. It has been just eight months since that time and you have seen the rates plateau for yourselves. My Dad says, "Yeah, but 'low' is relative."

In the letter, 'my big chance,' (April 2005) I made a definition:

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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tack
n.

Nautical.

1. The position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails.
2. A course of action meant to minimize opposition to the attainment of a goal.
3. An approach, especially one of a series of changing approaches.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The winds have changed and it will be prudent to state that inflation is coming soon. Right now, interest rates are being held at artificially low levels via a process termed 'financial repression.' It is a common Asiatic technique for filtering low-cost loans into a command economy for military-industrial development.

Chinese financial repression is beneficial for the US in the short-run because we receive cheap money to refinance homes for a better rate & term or to cash-out. Sometimes we reinvest [cash-out] money in our property to experience Schumpeterian 'windfall profits,' (i.e. refurbish kitchen for capital gains) while other times, we just blow it out the expense column.

Chinese national banks (i.e. Hong Kong Bank and Shanghai Bank) use the Yuan/Renminbi to buy dollar-denominated assets such as 'zero-risk' government bonds, T-bills, long- and short-term notes, mortgage-backed securities, and the like. They get the security of American money to run their economy as well as the advantage of relatively inexpensive goods for export in foreign markets.* (endnote 3)

We cannot avoid inflation because US consumer interests are bound with Chinese aspirations for a military-industrial complex. We are mortgaging our posterity for the 'here-and-now' while simultaneously bankrolling Chinese development out of our own pockets. It is a mutually beneficial situation that cannot last long.

Economists like to say 'there is no free lunch.' If we have any indication of what the future may hold, it is possible that we can check the history books and look back to the Kennedy-

The idea is that this 'free money' you're getting from your house isn't really free. In economic terms, we like to say, 'there is no free lunch.' Financial repression is an artificial maneuver that causes interest rates to stay low for the short term and then, as inflation rises and the value of currency declines, interest rates will spring back up and the market will collapse.

Essentially, that money you got on refinancing your home is Chinese money. That interest rate on your home mortgage is staying low because the Chinese are funneling money into the US through financial repression.

In 'Money & Economy' (February 2005) I used the allegory of lions at the zoo to explain the international economy as it pertains to us as American citizens. In that story, I explained that inflation is waste. The connection I want to make here is that profligate spending leads to inflation and that is bad.

The nation has two deficits:

1. the Current Account (Imports minus Exports)

2. Government Budget (social programs and military spending -- national overhead)


As citizens, the only part of the 'twin deficits' we have control over is household spending. In the aggregate, American household savings rates are negative. People are using their homes like ATMs, taking cash out to buy hummers, plasma screen tvs, and using the money to go on vacations. Fun fun fun.

We have spent loads of money rebuilding Iraq. We did not go into Iraq to build a nation. There isn't any more money in the government's budget for nation-building nor will there be measures to increase the budget for the rebuilding efforts in Iraq. When this 2006 money runs out, that's it.

Oil companies across the globe are benefitting from the highest petroleum prices in history. My Dad made a good point that high energy costs lower corporate profit margins due to increased transporation expenditures which increase cost of goods sold. Prices must be increased to sustain profitability, and thus workers demand higher wages to keep up with inflation. Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi. You can see everything goes up. That is one way to experience inflation.

Inflation can also be experienced by way of overextension. This is the most popular explanation and it pertains to the Current Account (household spending on foreign goods) as well as the government budget (war in Iraq, foreign aid, national social programs including provision of health care and social security to illegal immigrants who have children inside our boarders).

Right now, we see both tendencies on the rise. Energy prices are going through the roof and as Americans we are overextended both at home and abroad. More on this later. The President is speaking now.

Israeli - Palestinian Conflict; Term of the Day

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Here is your term of the day:

mutually exclusive

adj

1: unable to be both true at the same time [syn: contradictory]


I've been studying for the LSAT for six months and I just started a class that teaches formal logic. This is one of the terms we learn. I was doing some homework the other night and these words just flowed onto the page. By the way, I write a lot of things that I never send out, but I can never tell what will come through and what won't. It's like artistry, you know? Sometimes you can start doodling and then end up with a good picture that you weren't intending. Alternatively, it can be like a workout that you weren't looking forward to and then it ends up being a day where you just crush every rep and hit a PR! It just depends; I think it has to do with persistence and clear intentions.

Well, what I came up with is this:

* God and chaos/corruption are mutually exclusive agents. i.e., they cannot exist in the
same place at the same time.

Key:

G = GOD

CH = CHAOS

CO = CORRUPTION

* not symbol (negation of a term)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

G --> *CH and *CO; alternatively -

CO or CH --> *G

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This says that if GOD is, then CHAOS and CORRUPTION are not. Alternatively, if CHAOS or CORRUPTION is, then GOD is not. We cannot say that if CHAOS or CORRUPTION is then GOD is not; that is an incorrect reversal. Alternatively, we cannot say that if GOD is not, then CHAOS and/or CORRUPTION is. That is an incorrect negation. We don't know what happens if God does not exist and we don't know what happens if Chaos or Corruption do not exist.

Chaos and Corruption are not mutually exclusive. They can exist together or separately.

e.g. Chaos and Corruption exist together in opaque administrations - like the ones that come up with
surprise advances and whose administrations keep lots of secrets to ambush citizens and
foreigners.

e.g.2 Chaos can exist without corruption such as in the case of a victim. That person without
territorial integrity will fall prey to uncertainty over and over and over and over and over and
over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and
over and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over
and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and
over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over
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and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and
over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over
and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over
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and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and
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and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over
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and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and
over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over
and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over
over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over
and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and
over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over
and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over
over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over
and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and
over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over
and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over
over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over
and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and
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and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and
over and over and over over and over and over and over and over and over over and over
and over and over and over and over again.

e.g.3 Corruption can exist without chaos such as in the case of the Mafia. The hierarchical structure
and transparency of a strict moral code preclude anything but transparent organization. That
is, [individuals at the top of the chain of command] know who is doing what, where, when,
why, how and with whom. There is no uncertainty (or chaos), but there sure is corruption!




L&G-

I used the example of the Mafia's hierarchical structure and strict moral code which precludes anything but transparency. There is no disorder within the localized sampling, but of course the organized crime ring creates free-for-all in the macro sense. i.e., in a global structure, Mafias create chaos. So it just depends on how broad you want to look at it.

In the victim example, I said that there is no corruption (in the localized sampling of the individual). However, the global examination shows that a victim cannot exist without fault or corruption unless you consider the possibility that human nature, at least in one case, lends it self to pure ignorance. I think we can prove that even babies and madmen can learn. If they could not, they would cease to be human. Methinks.


L&G-

For clarification, the globalized sampling looks at the victim over time rather than in a specific instance. This suggests that a victim can learn and therefore victimhood is reserved for the uninitiated. Thanks.


L&G-

Formal logic was my way to couch the argument that taking a side [esp. for Israel and against Hezbolla/Hamas or any manifestations of the Palestinian Arab Islamic fundamentalist cults] in Mid-Eastern jihad would be a bad idea. When you hear Arabs saying, "Down with Israel! Down with America!" That is only taunting meant to lure us into a trap. If we get sucked in, those bastards will have justification for bombing us again. I guarantee that if we defend 'Israel' in Zionist/Islamic holy war, we will see brutal ramifications in the near/mid/long term. That is imminent danger.

In fact, if we advance ourselves in the name of [whatever type of justification] against Hamas/Hezbolla/Al Queda/Mujahadeen or any other Islamic force seeking self-determinacy in order to defend 'Israel' in the Middle East, we will deserve an attack by terrorists from that region. That is to say, we can't keep claiming ignorance.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." — George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

America was the victim of a horrible tragedy on 9/11 in Washington and Pennsylvania. We experienced blowback or unintended consequences of foreign policy when terrorism was justified by Islamic radicalists ostensibly because of the Cold War struggle of the Mujahadeen. We sent $millions in covert aid and weapons to the Muslim Brotherhood during the seventies to defeat Stalinist Russia (the USSR - a country of terrorists armed with nuclear weapons). Once we secured that territory, the newly united Islamists were left unguided and these religious zealots (or some faction thereof) subsequently overthrew the Sha of Iran in my birthday year. With the innervation of revolutionary power, these fundamentalists - armed with weapons, cash and ideology - reunited the flame of medieval crusade.

The ideologues thought God was giving them the green light to destroy all non-Muslim peoples and principalities. This false positive led from the wrongheaded assumption that that global jihad is justified based on the supposition that God is on the side of the jihadists themselves. However, God is neither political nor religious. People are. God is neither Conservative nor Liberal. People are. God is neither Christian nor Islamic nor Zionist. People are.

Furthermore, God does not fight people's battles. People fight God's battles. In a struggle, there may be some justifiable evidence for righteousness based on a relative standard for either party. However, unless God's will has been sought out and followed, that coalition's military and/or ideological endeavor will be disappointed. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door will be answered.

Fears

L&G-

A random note regarding something interesting in a book I'm reading called 'In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day':

Humans only have two instinctual fears:

1. Falling down
2. Loud noises

All other fears are learned*.

*The corollary truth to this statement is that [any other] fear can be unlearned.

A Forteriori, Natural Law

L&G,

Your term of the day is philosophical. I'm going somewhere with (w/) this, don't worry. It's all part of a bigger vision I'm trying to encapsulate. i.e., I'd like to show that outcomes in politics, economics, etc. have much to do with natural law. If we can just get to the bottom of the issues and find the common denominator, you know. If we can just get to the common basis of all these arguments and figure out where each schism begins and why people think the way they do, if we can figure out why people make certain decisions and what leads them to act out certain behaviors, ergo what repercussions society will be faced w/, then we have a better picture of things in general and will be able to manage risk more effectively. I think what government and economics and law all comes down to is making things as simple and as effective and as blindly just as possible. We can only provide justice if:

1. We have the power to do so
2. We are enlightened as to the practical ramifications of our laws

It's important, I think, to be purposeful and direct in governance as in all of our communications and our interactions. We're a government of the people, for the people and by the people. That's where I'm coming from. If we don't participate in democracy and if we don't act responsibly to know the issues, then we will lose our rights.

With those rights, our freedoms will be usurped. And I don't think anyone wants that (except for the bad guys w/in us and abroad). Don't trust anyone who slanders the Bible. If you have a problem w/ what I'm saying, then you're not going to like much of what else I have to say from here on out so just let me know w/ a reply email that you want to opt out or else, just divert these messages to your junk mail folder – that would probably be easiest I think. Here is your term of the day.


a-forteriori- to the stronger; even more so


The term is used to predict outcomes of case-based legal arguments.



L&G-

I know some people get bent out of shape regarding religion and politics. That will all be explained, but it requires a bit of discernment. People take [self-evident truths] and oversimplify 'reality' based on such. It is important for us to understand the basis of universal laws created by God (i.e., natural law) so that we can understand why things happen and how they come about. In case you happen to think God does not exist, then you'd be interested to also know that nothing exists. I'll get to that.




L&G –

In order to make things simple and clear, once we understand natural law, we can then guide our thoughts and actions accordingly. In such a way, we will reach our goals most directly. I would like to say that acting according to universal truth is always the path of least resistance, but that's not necessarily the case. Individuals and entities often stand in the way of scientific law to impose their own set of standards, their own culture, and their own 'truths' in order to create a 'reality' most fitting for their own interests. e.g., Oligarchs impose authoritarian rule over conformists in a [totalitarian] state like China, Japan, Venezuela (among others in Latin America), Nigeria (among others in Africa) or in the Islamic world.

The terror is that conformity and authoritarianism are opposite sides of the same coin. The former begets the latter and vice versa. An easy way to put it, I think, is that conformists need to be dominated like authoritarians need [the power of] domination. It can all be explained simply in terms of human nature. i.e., we see as is often the case in codependent relationships when one person takes on an 'oppressor' role and the other 'victim'. Regardless of incessant torture and relentless violence, the 'victim' often returns to the 'oppressor' and likewise the 'oppressor' continues his (or her) behavior according to the modus operandi of ignorance.

The insecurity of each party leads to these types of behavioral norms and it is a way of asserting legitimacy, enfranchisement, and efficacy, among other things. You see, the definition of insanity is:

a disease, defect, or condition of the mind that renders one unable to understand the nature of [the] law being violated; inability to understand the nature and consequences of one's acts

As you can see, the definition, generally, is taken to mean that someone who is insane cannot understand their own surroundings or the consequences of their actions. Actions are principally borne from thoughts, which are derived from beliefs grounded in character. And if I may be so bold, [individual] character is rooted in behavioral norms defined by cultural traditions*.

Ignorance to natural law makes people feel insecure – they cannot adjust to their environment without (w/o) exercising overarching control over it. Imagine if your house, your job, your family and your friends changed every day. You would spend all of your time just trying to figure things out and you would never be allowed to adjust. There would be a commensurate lack of: peace, security, order, harmony, joy, hope, and other beautiful things. You would feel impotent and disenfranchised; you would be frustrated by a lack of understanding and control of your own environment. You would feel totally helpless and by definition, insane. What would you about your situation? Well, seek refuge of course.

When authoritarians exercise absolute control over their environs (to establish a refuge), they become [absolutely] corrupt. The corruption can apply to any overarching leadership such as a dictator or a monarch. I think I'm going to stop there or else risk going too far in any unnecessary direction. I'll speak more on this later.





*An objection to said statement would be the degree to which certain behavioral norms do not conform to traditional cultural values due to various temporal factors, which cause the uprooting and concomitant displacement of such principles. e.g., commercialism or some fanciful ideological trend.

Article Notes - Berkeley

L&G,

A friend of mine sent me an article that I thought was interesting. I think it goes right to the point of a certain aspect of what I'm trying to say in general. Forgive the circuitous nature of my argument here, but as I say, it's necessary. The article is called, "Little Asia on the Hill", referring to the [over]representation of smart people in this ethnic group after prop 209 banned Affirmative Action (AA)*, an amendment passed during my junior year. Berkeley is the nation's premier public university and it has been referred to as "Harvard on the hill" by some academics. On Berkeley as a meritocracy after AA:


"We shouldn't be calling these studying habits that help so many kids get into good schools 'Asian values,' " says Mr. Liu, himself a product of Yale College and Harvard Law School. "These are values that used to be called Jewish values or Anglo-Saxon work-ethic values. The bottom line message from the family is the same: work hard, defer gratification, share sacrifice and focus on the big goal."



*For those of you who are unaware, AA is a program that discriminates against 'white' males (and, ostensibly, high performing 'Asians' on the basis of general performance in math and the sciences) in favor of the generally less high academic performers – i.e., 'blacks' and 'hispanics', etc. As an aside, 'white' is a skin color and 'Asian' actually refers to a geographical location. I'm not sure how we've come to defer to these [superficial] discriminations the way we do. And I don't think it's correct to refer to people or people groups based on color of skin or geographical location or language for that matter, but I guess the whole point is to correct this. Furthermore, the racial and gender preference for women v. men applies only to 'white' skin color (i.e., 'Asian' men are not discriminated against to allow for 'Asian' women – for the record).

The burden is completely on our shoulders. And I am going to [re]prove that self-evident truth although it has been uprooted and displaced in the minds of the masses by hateful demagogues using class, gender, and race warfare – promoting tensions in civil society by pointing out reinforcing cleavages. The order of the day is disorder for those who have created this society and there is order – rather power, in nonconformance and non-assimilation for those who have been ostensibly 'wronged'. But justice is a relative term. How can 'justice' be served w/in the context of parallel or relative moralities? The answer is: It cannot. The only way to serve the greatest number w/ the greatest good is by establishing one order, one rule and one way. And justice must be served based on universal standards, universal norms, and universal values.

If we don't do it God's way, we lose. To the extent which demagogues can uproot our tradition, they will supplant it w/ their own. Don't be fooled by false believers who talk big and loud and get in your face about 'righteousness' it's nothing more than chauvinism meant to provoke you and turn you away from the truth. And please discern duplicity from sincere, unambiguous service to the will of almighty God. There is an easy way to tell the difference: People who are insincere about their faith will be suspicious of [you] as they act suspiciously themselves. Morality is written on our hearts. When people act in defiance to [natural] morality, it will cause a tugging feeling on your heart by way of individual conscience. And that will nag you forever if you can't justify your actions. So when people commit obviously indecent acts (meanness, committing crimes, etc.) and when they try to justify their actions by playing a 'victim' role (e.g., 'life is unfair, I'm just trying to survive), don't buy into it.

People act according to their belief systems. If they really are Christian, they will espouse Christian values, they will walk and talk Christian. Christians, although very often persecuted, do not go around acting like 'victims'; that is not our character. We strive and are persistent in longsuffering. We overcome obstacles by appeal to an all- powerful God. We do not go around complaining about our circumstances and trying to appeal to other people to give us 'hand-outs'. We do not take advantage of others' gentle sensitivities and use them for wealth and advantage. We do not creep into the lives of our neighbors and stab them in the back once they give us an opportunity by making themselves vulnerable. We do not prey on the natural openness and forthrightness of honest people by accusations.

The entire discussion comes down to one thing to the exclusion of all other things. That is, in a word, values. And I will stop there.




P.S. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love you.



L&G-

When I referred to reproving that it is 'our' burden, I was referring, as you're probably aware of the Christians' burden. It has been traditionally referred to as the "White Man's Burden", but I don't think that accurately captures the nature of the struggle @ all. It's lazy talk to refer to people by their skin color and those things b/c, as I've previously stated, you can't know anthing about behavioral norms, ergo morality, by these superficial discriminations in the present day. So many things have changed; value systems have had an opportunity to cut across all people groups regardless of ethnicity, language or geographical location. For the record, I think "White" has been used for simplicity throughout [modern] history because Christianity has traditionally been the "White" man's value system.

I think the real reason for our tendency to refer to ourselves as 'white' comes from the fact that our forebears were the ancient Greeks (radical democracy of Athens, the Western world, etc.) and it is our desire to have continuity w/ those roots. We all care about that, right? However, fortunately or unfortunately, I think skin color differentiation has outgrown its useful life. We have to understand our differences based on value systems, i.e., on character. That way, we can get to the bottom of things and solve all of our problems. Yes there will always be trouble brewing somewhere across the globe because of the fallen state of man*. He is a sinner. I'll get to that.



*species, not gender



L&G-

One thing I noticed about the message about the Puritan colony, when I said: "And where civil society ends, tribalism begins..." That is a funny thing because (b/c) of the impossible nature of defining a society's boundaries that is anything other than civil ( e.g. tribal). The undercurrent of 'white shame' in media and academia reflected in reparations-style public policy in Anglo Saxon Christian societies (e.g. AA-type programs in the USA and UK) stems, at least in part, from the notion of 'unjustified displacement' of [tribal] societies ( e.g. British Quakers come to settle in North America, ergo Native Americans are confronted w/ a new reality of sharing land w/ people unlike themselves) from their indigenous territories. Herein lies the conundrum:

How do you define territory? If Native Americans roamed across the country and did not set up any demarcated boundaries and if they did not tend to the land they lived upon, how could they possibly ever hope to claim it? And what did they claim, everything? That sounds awfully odd to me. What happens if other people come (demographics and net influxes of new peoples every day) and need to share the land? How do you mitigate that? I guess the natives never really considered the possibility that there would ever be anyone besides themselves. And this gets me to thinking...

Iraq is not in "Civil War"

L&G-


I'd just like to point this out; it's a posting from my former professor's blog that I receive via email. It's called "Feedblitz" (an RSS feed). As of yesterday:

"The Marines in Anbar province report very positive effects in reducing the non-sectarian Al Qaeda based violence that is the predominant cause of instability there."

Followed by comments from the peanut gallery:

"Yep non sectarian Al Qaeda. This is like saying pacifist Al Qaeda. [There was a] captured CD [that] revealed an explicit plan to provoke sectarian civil war proposed by 'Monotheism and Jihad' aka 'al Qaeda in Mesopotamia' aka 'Al Qaeda in Iraq' aka 'Abu Mussab al Zarqawi and fellow murderous sectarian fanatics.'"

Just a quick note: The lack of a 'civil' society precludes the possibility of a 'civil war' (Iraq is not a state according to the Treaty of Westphalia since it cannot secure its own borders independently). 'Civil' society requires:

1. Statehood

And

2. Rule of law*.

Iraq has neither of these prerequisites because the rule of law does not function independently of varying sectarian interpretations (fatwas, etc.). Without a common order (i.e., universal laws for all, pertaining to every case and subject of the state), there can be no stability, functionality, etc. and therefore no civil society.


*Numbers 35

Pagan Recusancy

L&G-

They say it takes 40 or so people to pay for one retiree through the so-called 'compact b/w generations' a.k.a. Social Security pay-go Mutual/Trust Fund in America. How many Christians do you think it takes to maintain the unity of our liberal republican state per pagan? I'd say it probably depends on the strength of the pagan's recusancy v. the opposing strength of the Christians' [self]-sacrifice and stalwartness. Of course we must consider the 'whole is greater than the sum of its parts' principle (in both cases).


L&G-

Recusancy refers to petty self-empowerment at the expense of unity in the form of political pressure groups in the USA (and abroad). We can't have a civil order w/o mutual self-sacrifice. And individualism cannot be sustained w/o shared values. For the record.

Don't Trust Politicians

L&G-

Bureaucrats want power. They will do whatever they need to do to get it (e.g., agree, disagree, mock, applaud, etc.) Don't be fooled by politicians that tell you they will save you from yourselves. We are in this place here, now together. There are things we must do, together. Let's get on w/ it. Here is a quote from Bill Bonner's Daily Reckoning that speaks well to the situation:

We are in the Age of Mammon.

If the pollsters told the major parties they could win the White House by
renouncing the Constitution, the Bible, and the Theory of
Evolution...they'd do it immediately.

Generations Trend in Different Directions

L&G-

I found this article considerably amusing. According to a survey conducted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, reports of marijuana and other illicit drug use among the deconstructionist generation* (ages 60-42) has risen by an average of over 60% during the four year period ('02-'05)**. Meanwhile, American teens' (age 12-17) drug use has declined by an average of [a shade under] 15% in the same time frame. The author, Donna Leinwand of USA Today states,

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Federal anti-drug officials say the survey indicates that while some baby boomers who were in their teens and 20s when drug-use rates peaked in the 1970s are taking their drug habits well into middle age, today's youths aren't embracing drugs as enthusiastically."
- (Boomers...Push Up Overall Rates)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

According to John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, substance abuse has been viewed euphemistically by this group of individuals as a rite of passage into [young] adulthood or ‘a coming of age’. Apparently for some, this has become a tradition carried on throughout their lifetimes.

-NM





endnotes:

*deconstruction and poststructural are literary definitions for the [post]modern age controlled by the baby boom generation

** 2002-2005 inclusive = 4 years (that means you count all of 2002 and 2005, don't just subtract the numbers, silly!)

Cultural Relativism

L&G-

I'm stoked about continuity. There is nothing coincidental in the life of a man ferociously seeking to do the will of God. Yes I am on fire and I plan on staying that way. This a.m. in the WSJ there was a piece on the funnyman P.J. O'Rourke – a political satirist. The article was about whether conservatives or liberals are funnier. And his stance on the issue was that Liberals are always feeling so guilty that they can't be funny and Conservatives are always so worried about the world falling to pieces that they can't be funny. That's funny. Ha ha!!

He talked about negative rights: i.e., "Freedom from" and positive rights: i.e., "What will you give me?" He says, "In a democracy, it's always vibrating back and forth. People want the government to do everything; when they see that it sucks, they want the government to let them take charge, and when that doesn't work, they want the government to come back and fix all the problems that they themselves caused when they took charge."

On developing nations' intransigence, he said, "Twenty years ago we were all very interested in what was making these people fight each (ea.) other, and who was right and who was wrong, and after a while you say: Sit down and shut up. Go to hell." That sounds familiar. Ha ha!! That's funny. Except I know why the baby boom generation got derailed and I'm going back to fix it. This generation threw the baby out w/ the bathwater and expected cosmopolitanism to mend everything. That's impossible because (b/c) people come from different places; they have different habits; they walk and talk and act differently.

I think the ruling [baby boom] generation in America and the up-and-coming generation X have bought into the idea that everyone thinks the same, everyone really has the same general standards for morality and thus, dislocations only arise due to peoples' ignorance and oppression in general. I think there is a lot of truth in what is being said there, but people do not have the same standards for morality – i.e., what is just and what is unjust. Therefore ignorance and oppression are relative terms.

Consider the fact that, in a tribal culture, barbarians would consider it oppressive to be forced to obey civil laws and abide by standards other than their own. And on the opposite side of that coin, citizens of the civilized world consider barbarianism oppressive and threatening. Let's make pretend for a moment. Let's say we have two societies:

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1. African tribe (Voodo, syncreticism)
   
2. Quaker colony (Protestant Christian)
   

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Now these two societies live adjacent to one another. The Puritans do what the Puritans do. They dominate savage nature and subdue the elements (e.g., cut down trees to build houses, develop infrastructure for diverting water and storing it, purifying it for drinking, etc.) according to God's will. He says, "I want you to subdue the earth and populate it." Likewise, the barbarian tribes live in 'harmony w/ nature' or rather, in submission to the elements. They are unscrupulous in their dealings w/ civil society and are therefore unpredictable and untrustworthy.¹

Now the Puritans set up fences, build houses, schools, hospitals, libraries, churches, lay roads, etc. And where civil society ends, tribalism begins. As a Pilgrim settler living adjacent to a tribal culture, what do you think is going to happen?

With your indulgence, I'll ask you to conduct the same experiment w/ the following cultures:

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1. Muslim

2. Hindu

3. Atheist (holism, existentialism, asceticism, commercialism, communism, etc.)

4. Polytheist (human sacrifice, cannibalism, etc.)

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You may ask, well why do I associate people w/ religion and not something else like color of skin or language or geographical location? The reason being, you cannot identify someone's behavioral norms from their color of skin or their language or their geographical location. These superficial discriminations are crosscutting cleavages rather than reinforcing cleavages.

¹I'm asking for some leeway w/ this generalization. I will prove, although it will take some time, that I can defeat sophist tautology and semantical plays on words and ideological fantasy to establish this message as a self-evident truth. Just wait and see!

God Has Many Names

L&G-

Our King is named: 'Lord of Hosts' because (b/c) we host his holy spirit. Unfortunately, we are also hosts of Satan's¹ manifold parasitism.

¹ satan. Depending on your belief, this word either describes an actual [spiritual] entity replete w/ leagues of angels or else it is simply an allusion to the absence of God^a.

^1a an absence of God. According to natural law, light casts out all darkness. God is infinite light^b.

^1b God is infinite light. And when we look out @ the stars at night, we are encapsulated in darkness. Therefore, our [universe] is self-contained. In fact, it is a sphere^c.

^1c [the] universe…is a sphere. Copernicus' theory of why the earth is so pertains as well to the realm of our existence. I'll talk about it later.

Message 1/13/07

L&G-

First off, I want to say that I understand the lots of emails can be kind of daunting w/ all of the various topics and corrections. I don't have an editing staff yet, so before I can spend my life playing guitar and writing (and raising a family), I have to work @ a regular job and just send regular emails. Perhaps soon I'll get a blog setup replete w/ video streams, an RSS feed and subscriptions, so you can access everything all in one place.

There's one thing I want to note about sympathy and parasites. We have an entire industry of victim racketeering in Washington (which is a microcosm of the US) that's paid for by your tax dollars. I'd like to share w/ you the following excerpt from a lawyer counseling his client in Tort litigation (civil suit for arrest – mistreatment by police, etc.).

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The attorney led the [deponent] w/ the following: "…the difficulty created anger in you. The anger stays w/ you – you've become angry and anxious w/ respect to imposed authority". And then he said, "They patronizingly humiliated you."

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Of course this is meant to propose that the person is a victim for being humiliated. I think it's rather dubious since the people who claim to be victimized by humiliation are so often – although not always – the cause of suffering, pain, torture and humiliation for themselves and so many others. (e.g., norms lead to goals; if you act foolish, there will be consequences.) I think so many of us -individually and collectively – want to play the 'Catcher in the Rye' role and save people from themselves. God says, "Don't rescue a fool from the consequences of his/her actions or else you will become responsible for [continuing to do so]", or words to that affect (sic.). This is in the same vein of "A man who hates his son spares the rod of discipline", etc.

I'd also like to make a correction to the previous email: 'God has many names' and also add something. The endnote would be: ^1a [the] absence of God. And, if we are to get anything done @ all – i.e., discuss the problems w/ health care/social security, national security, etc., we need to be speaking the same language. When you turn on different t.v. channels, you pretty much expect a certain point-of-view (p.o.v.). It's the same w/ magazines and newspapers; they have perspectives. W/ my emails, you're going to get a certain perspective and I don't feel the need to articulate according to the needs and concerns of commercialized/marginalized mainstream media. Here's a quote that I think represents the situation perfectly.

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"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." – Bill Cosby, comedian

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Evil Suspicion

L&G-

It's a constant no matter where you go or what you do there will always be people looking incredulously @ you and freeriding on your efforts, just waiting for you to do something unacceptable¹ so they can lay blame. Consider the fact that every culture² affirms certain norms at the expense of others – i.e., certain attitudes/behaviors and actions will be emphasized as 'good' while behaviors/attitudes and actions that do not conform to those standards will be designated as 'bad'. When people feed off of you by suspicion, it is based on logic³ that is derived from morals grounded in something other than [your] tradition. That is to say, people who accuse you by sight and whom spread the tension, ergo fear, of said suspicion, are not speaking the same language you speak. They are developing these negatives in the darkroom of their own minds – minds which are brainwashed w/ ignorance by a multitude of sources. In fact, the tension you feel is none other than a lack of enlightenment, literally and figuratively.

Morality is written on our hearts (God's law) and therefore, when people act in defiance to said law, it will create a tension there. The Law of Conservation of Matter states that matter cannot be created or destroyed, only redistributed. This principle is of the same accord as the Law of Conservation of Justice such that justice cannot be created or destroyed; only redistributed. If someone commits a crime for which they are to blame, they must justify it or else face the consequences (anxiety/guilt --> loss of sleep, bad health, etc.). Shame can kill a man; in fact shame has killed many men. When someone acts suspicious of you [by sight] – i.e., judging you by your appearance – and you feel that tension, it is b/c the person has some type of blame to pass. Don't be fooled into shame by Satan⁴.

¹ unacceptable. A normative term.
² culture. Body of social norms including: attitudes, values, standards [for living], ethics and morals
³ logic. Ethical code derived from morals rooted in tradition.
⁴ Satan. Literally: 'the accuser'.

P.S. Not to obfuscate, but cultural varieties are derived from interpretations of an underpinning tradition (e.g., Anglo Saxon American culture of Christianity v. Anglo Saxon British culture of Christianity).

Evolution

L&G-

This is a rejoinder to science ficiton's account of the 'descent of man' that we're all having a good time refuting. We Christians get all of our work done and do it well so that we have free time to sit around refining logic and coming up w/ great ideas to spur society forward. Science is fantastic to the extent that it creates socially desirable solutions (e.g. a cure for cancer/HIV, etc.), but it is really harmful when used for political ends - i.e., to [ostensibly] refute the existence of God and brainwash affected citizens into the despair/lunacy/hopelessness that arises from a lack of 'reason' for existence. His name is Jonathan Raymond and he's a student @ some private Christian school in the Midwest. Enjoy.

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ok. Creationism. Ok. First let me explain the difference between macro and micro evolution. Microevolution is intraspecial variation. Ok? Got that? So look at the entirely enormous variation within the species 'Dog' caused by artificial selection (breeding). Note also that the textbook definition of species is that group of animilia which can reproduce with itself and produce legitmate offspring which can then also reproduce. All dogs can hump all other dogs and have little dog babies that can also reproduce. We good here? Variation within species is called micro-evolution.

In contrast is macroevolution--which means variation that causes an offspring to generate which is not in the species. This has never been recorded. Generally evolutionists say that micro evolution climaxes in macroevolution. If this were possible I'm sure it would have been observed already in the example I have given above--the artificial selection of dogs--because by the means of artificial selection you can speed up microevolution very much.

Any way, why am I telling you this? To first make clear that the Creationist is still an evolutionist--however he is a microevolutionist and not a macroevolutionist. The Creationist agrees with observed microevolution but disagrees with the greater problem and unobserved macroevolution.

OK. Now onto the holes of evolutionary theory:

First, evolutionary theory does not explain the leap from inorganic materials to the highly complex structure of the cell. Recent or more modern evolutionary theory suggests that life started in pourous rocks--NOT the primordial soup--because of this problem. Why pourous rocks? a makeshift cell membrane. Anyway, the complexities of molecular biology and the interdependence of the organelles of the cell (PLEASE tell me you took cellular biology and PAID ATTENTION?) makes evolution from inorganic materials impossible.

Secondly: the problem of the generation of the complex interplay between RNA and DNA to generate protiens (protein synthesis). There are no observed predecessors to RNA or DNA and this poses an enormous problem to evolution. The problem, I think, can be googled using the keyword 'pRNA' (for predecessor RNA).

Thirdly, evolution does not account for the leap from asexual reproduction to sexual reproduction (first on a cellular level--bacteria--and then on a plant / animal level). why sexual reproduction?

Fourthly, evolution does not account for symbiosis. Symbiosis is the interdependence of beings/species. Take bees and flowers for example. Flowers depend on bees for their reproduction; and bees on flowers for food. There are a plethora of such symbiotic relationships in the known animal kingdom and these would not be possible to have ever been developed; they are interdependent systems that must have been generated as is.

Fifthly, evolution, I think takes for granted the evident design in all the animal kingdom and especially in the human species. If you have ever played with K'Nex or Lego Technic you will have a bit of a grasp on two important mechinical concepts that have bearing here. First the more minor of the two. If you have ever had a large/huge box of K'Nex or Legos; where do the smaller parts fall? Contrary to your intuition or commonsense they fall to the bottom; and the larger pieces sift through up to the top. This I realized, typifies the fossil record especially. It would make sense to me to say that the record was generated from a worldwide flood because of this observed phenomenon.

The second concept is of mechanics. As a child I would frequently try to make robotic arms with my K'Nex. Most people take the device of the arm EXTREMELY for granted but anybody who has tried to MAKE THEIR OWN will have realized the enormous difficulties in simulating the many points of rotation and movement made possible with the aesthetically pleasing and simple arrangement of the bones present in the arm. Have you ever taken human biology?

here is a picture:

http://www.artfuloddities.

com/2D/Sketches/Workshop/B

ack-arm-FINAL.jpg

but it really doesn't do justice to the structure of the radius which enables the forearm to rotate while the ulna enables the forearm to do a hinge motion. These are mechanical concepts--joints they call them. But to have both a rotating and hinge is quite a pleasing feat of mechanics. At least I think so. Maybe you have to take Human Biology and have the radius and ulna and the humerous in your hands like I did and play with them a little to get what I mean. Where the radius and the humerous are jointed there is a bit of a ball and socket bit. Its really hard for me to explain. The human arm is a masterpiece of mechanics.

And this simplistic, Zen like efficiency and aestheticism is present throughout nearly all of the structures of the human body if one has an eye to see.

For example, the semicircular canals of the ear--which are instrumental in balance--are three in number and follow the three spatial planes--the X, Y, and Z. This ingenious collaboration between mathematical space and biology I find impossible to be coincidence.

Also the interdependence of systems is also quite wonderful; there are more than five systems of the body: the cardiovascular, skeletal, muscular, nervous, digestive, lymph, and hormonal. The interplay between these systems allows for all human activity. Again, I really recommend taking a good human biology course.

All this suggests to me design. A car implicitly suggests a car-maker; and likewise the man. A man implicity suggests a man-Maker--that is, God.

That's about it for now!


Recommended Reading:

Darwin's Black Box --Michael J. Behe

A human biology text

A text on the principles of mechanics

I also recommend looking into the works done at MIT in regards to Artificial Life (COG, etc) and playing with legos/K'nex. trying to make a human arm

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Betrayal

L&G-

All I know is, people that I can't trust are creeps and I'm not wrong for being shrewd. If someone calls me, "Mean" for standing up for my own values and establishing boundaries (-i.e ., standing for what I believe in and not giving in or allowing my principles to be supplanted by suspicious pressures and people that want to 'move' me), that is due to their own ignorance. I won't be held hostage to others' sense of entitlement and to their accusations - I will not stand to defend myself ad infinitum from Satan's deception and manipulation. I will not allow myself to be betrayed (in the same way twice). You can fool me once, shame on you. But I can't get fooled again.

Economics be damned - Congress, legislate @ will! Aaaargh!!!

L&G-

I'd just like to introduce something of a bill that affects the most needy of Americans. It is the minimum wage law. We have just passed one ($7.15/hr.) in the continental United States, which, I'm sure, is a happy happy day for some. However, there are indeed unintended consequences that I'd like to quickly delve into. As most know, a company can employ workers from any location to make things and to export goods. Those locations w/ the lowest wages can offer the most competitive advantage to companies seeking profits. And profits are the lifeblood of business, employment, and life. Do you work for a corporation? Most likely! Otherwise you work for yourself, the government, or an NGO (nonprofit). In any case, it's truism that you can't just sit still and expect to earn enough pay to keep you going. If a man won't work, he won't eat. Get out of bed, lazy! Alternatively, you are either getting stronger or you are getting weaker. You are either moving ahead or you are falling behind. Some move just enough to maintain a relatively stable position. Oftentimes it is these people who get laid off in restructuring, but I digress...

Companies need to clear revenues over [variable and fixed] costs to earn profit. It is that of variable cost - e.g., wages - that we are most concerned w/ today. A company's factor inputs consist of seventy percent labour and thirty percent capital. Meaning, that if labour costs a lot, it will contribute a lot of extra cost to the company and that will diminish the internal rate of return, or the return on [human] capital. And companies will have fewer profits. And shareholders become unhappy. And people lose jobs. So that is bad. Blame neither executives nor stockholders. It is no one's fault because in God's economy, there is no free lunch. You can't legislate higher wages and expect to make more people happy (unless we are in the dark ages or in a totalitarian country where people get routinely taken advantage of and abused and terrorized and there is no oversight, ergo protection for the weak and the vulnerable). We do not live in a totalitarian dark age. We live in a market-driven political economy where the price mechanism functions satisfactorily well and civilians are able to acquire jobs commensurate w/ their own knowledge, skills and abilities.

In American Samoa, there is frenzy over the $3.26 minimum wage legislation that tuna fisheries are now required to pay their employees. The problem is that, although Star Kist, a major employer in the area, would like American Samoa to maintain its status as the preferred cost location for much of Star Kist production, the area will not be able to compete with a $0.50 wage in another place (e.g. Ecuador). So when people say 'fair economics', consider what God considers fair first and then make plans that comport w/ that. Otherwise, legislating wages in a [perfectly] competitive wage environment such as in the heretofore-globalizing world in order to increase employees' utility is a fool's errand. Legislation that contravenes natural law causes negative spillover effects into the domestic economy - i.e., we lose jobs to overseas workers who are willing to do the jobs for less pay.

Bumbling bureaucrats thought they were helping people. Now these [literally] poor fishermen are wondering what percentage of the wage labour increase will pass through to the commodity price of Star Kist tuna and what effect that will have on competition w/ other brands [of tuna]. Minimum wage legislation is forcing industry [that provides jobs to Samoan Americans] to relocate in order to compete for [razor thin] margins in an industry w/ a nearly perfect price elasticity of demand.




Star Kist on new [deal] legislation that will cause outsourcing of jobs from [American] Samoa:

Our bottom line position is, any increase in minimum wage puts considerable pressure on the costs of the commodity products that are manufactured in American Samoa that are already not in a good cost position.

FYI

Global Econ

L&G-

This from 'Feedblitz':

The regional course of trade deficits and surpluses: 1997-2005.

Source: IMF, via Global Economy Matters: Structural Drivers of Global Macroeconomic Imbalances .

---

The Situation:

Net capital inflow: $600B (from foreign central banks) + $200B (from foreign private wealthy) = $800B a year.

This must balance:

Trade deficit: $800B a year

What happens if the $600B of net capital flowing in from foreign central banks disappears?

• U.S. interest rates go up--supply and demand in the capital market for loanable funds.
• U.S. dollar's value goes down--supply and demand in the market for foreign exchange.
• A less-valuable dollar raises dollar-value exports and lowers dollar-value imports.
• Higher interest rates pull in more capital, which partially offsets the decline in foreign central bank-driven inflow.
• U.S. has to move people from construction and consumer goods to export and import-competing goods. (8M?)
• Foreigners have to move people from export industry into construction and consumer goods. (40M?)

Why can't the current configuration go on forever? Consider China, currently at $250B a year (12% of Chinese GDP) with foreign exchange reserves of $1T (50% of Chinese GDP). In a decade, at the current pace, foreign exchange reserves of $4.5T (110% of future Chinese GDP). Losses on foreign exchange reserve portfolio: to buy dollars at $1=8RMB and then to sell them at $1=16RMB is expensive.

• What happens just before foreign central banks abandon their dollar-purchase programs?
• What happens just before that?
• And just before that?

http://delong.typepad.com/teaching_spring_2006/2007/01/in_condemnation.html

Want to Hear a Funny Trick?

L&G-

The ideologies of 'feminism' and 'multiculturalism' are set up against [white] Christian male dominance in the world. And their power is your submission; i.e., you must 'buy in' to these philosophies in order for them to be potent, or to have force in guiding behavioral norms. That's just a dash of perspective for your long weekend. Is everybody doing well? I hope so! Chat with me when you get some time. I'll be around!! ;)

XOXO

High School Prison

L&G-

I think there should be a two-tier public school system for: 1. kids that work hard, achieve and don't have behavioral problems and 2. the rest. This is the beginning of isolating problems in our society. The reason we have backslidden so hard since Brown v. Board of Education is due to the practical ramifications of the [ostensibly] sacrosanct 'integration' reform which has been so devastating to our nation. The smartest kids drop out of [public] high school by the thousands because it is like a prison for them. I'm just getting warm here.

Big Brother

L&G-

So there was this rage a little while ago about freedom and personal privacy. I wonder why people don't acknowledge the fact that there are citizens among us watching all the time. They are surveying where you move your hand and where you move your foot. They are surveying where you look with your eyes and how you move with your body. They are surveying and also criticizing every word you say and how you say it. These people are vigilantly on watch to catch you in a crime against humanity. They are always watching how you interact with others just trying to shame you into feeling as though you've interacted improperly. These people among us actively and overtly seek to suck the happiness out of us and to make us feel bad. They feel sorry for themselves in public and act like we can't be happy if they aren't happy but inside they laugh at our stupidity. These people are vigilantly watching us to make sure that we remain subservient to their interests and unhappy in public. If we don't bow down, they will 'socialize' us. We are prisoners of the pagans'.

Enough is Enough!

L&G-

Oh and these people will run a racket to make you feel sorry for them - they reason that they need to act that way to protect themselves. Do you buy into that? Do you really think that people who get easily offended and who are all the time provoking really deserve sympathy? Do you think that adults who act like children really deserve to swamp you with their troubles and drain all your resources (time, energy, money and the like)? Personally, if people make dumb decisions and have bad attitudes, I am sure they will remain in the same circumstances (unless they can fool others into doing the work for them). When people complain about how their circumstances don't change and when they complain about the same crises over and over and over again they are simply not learning from their mistakes. Do you think we should keep people from developing character by protecting them from the consequences of their own actions?

I think that's a great disservice; people need character to carry on in the face of adversity; they don't need a way out every time the going gets tough. We cannot hold all of these walking wounded - these people are not our burden! The next time someone acts like a spoiled rotten child and demands that you do something about their problem or the way they feel, stand up and say, "Well heck [Ma'am or Mister], you've never grown up. That's your problem!"

They Say America Has Lost Its Moral Compass

L&G-

Add to that, it's backbone as well. America has certifiably castrated those who would otherwise guard and protect America's best interests. We are eunuchs in the palace! Hmm... I hope nobody decides to attack us! Who will stand up to them, people of color? I dare say no. America is synonymous with white Christian dominance in the world and there are lots of people who would rather see us crushed than to even enjoy living fruitful lives among us - sharing in the bounty etc. Unless we cut the umbilical cord of 'protected' status in this Republic and allow the impartial majesty of the law to blindly consider all as equals, we will continue as a ship on the ocean with a hole in its hull. Most ships cannot fill up fast enough to be completely filled with water before they sink all the way to the ocean floor. And any ship that is not completely filled before it sinks will implode in deep waters. We have been heading down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down 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down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down down for a whole generation and I'm afraid it won't be much longer now. I'm holding my forefinger one centimeter from my thumb and looking through the crack. I say, "We are this close!"

Politics of Accommodation I - (the Anti-Christ)

L&G-

I just wanted to write a quick note on something that has been simmering in my mind for quite some time. I hear a lot of talk in general from political leaders on the right (such as pastors and bureaucrats) that there is an agenda in America that seeks to defy Christianity and that the worldview of people from this agenda is of moral relativism - i.e., anything can be considered 'truth' as long as [a majority of] people believe it. And this affronts God's absolute sovereignty. It is true that there is an agenda that seeks to undermine God and our biblical/literate tradition in the civilized world, but it is not necessarily one group of people seeking to 'relativize' the truth, as it were. There is no single culprit (e.g., homosexuals) seeking to destroy the foundations for God's perfect order and there is no single culprit seeking to wash away the sanctuary created for God on earth (i.e., the American dream).

America was borne, largely of Protestants seeking freedom from religious persecution - e.g., being jailed for insurrection in England, being crucified as well as burnt on stakes in Spain for heresy - in Europe where freedom of speech and the right to gather peacefully as well as freedom of the press were curtailed. This nation is great not due to compromising its values and its ethics but from staying true to its traditions and it has been blessed, through faith, in obedience to God. We are ascendant and set apart to glorify the name of Christ; we are as a city upon a hill for all to see - a holy example bright and shining for the world to acknowledge the works of his hands. I told you these emails were going to start getting steeped in Christianity - it is the only way for us to solve our problems. We are being encroached upon by the dreaded hand of private violence and the even more to be dreaded hand of legal oppression, not due to the worldviews of homosexuals or any specific target demographic, but due to our politics of accommodation. There is a saying that, "If you give Satan an inch, he'll be a ruler!" There is no specific demographic that threatens our nation's prosperity; rather it is accommodative politics which encroaches upon our liberties.

Let me explain something: civil society is based upon the rule of law and we, as citizens, are each engaged in a social contract of mutual shared sacrifice. We are limited in what we can do to one another by the law - that is what 'liberty' is. If you are running on a mountain pass and you see a hungry predator that wants to hunt you, it's not likely that screaming, "Stop - in the name of the law; I am protected by my human rights liberties!" is going to have any affect on that animals' behaviour. If it wants to eat you and if you are less than capable of defending yourself from an attack (and no act of providence protects you), then you will surely be eaten. In the case of civil society, however, people honor the power of the written word and objective standards govern our social mechanics (e.g., people stop at red lights in traffic; abate their respective inclinations toward murder, theft, etc.). When people invoke the sweet name of 'liberty', consider the cost and God's economy where there is no free lunch. People use [human] 'rights' struggles propaganda to take advantage of each other.

If one specific demographic group is to have [special] 'liberties', then another [specific] demographic group (or the remainder thereof) will have to pay for those liberties. When someone 'takes their liberties' with another person, that is a form of rape, murder, theft - it is really just one person taking advantage of another. Earlier I said that there is no specific demographic group that seeks to undermine God's biblical tradition, necessarily. And furthermore, it is not simply a will of one specific group that asserts a [morally relative] worldview, therefore, the moral/political leaders of America need to focus more broadly, in my opinion, on issues of accommodation rather than targeting specific groups as culprits in America's [ever-increasing] moral failings and ineptitude to defend itself from [foreign/domestic invasion], bankruptcy ( e.g. top-heavy entitlements such as pensions for being an American citizen analogous to the Airlines, all of whom are directly or indirectly subsidized by American citizens' tax dollars via Federal assistance and most of whom are nevertheless going bankrupt) and the like. Essentially, the issues we face are corporative - once people have citizenship (given they've reached the adult age of eighteen and are not convicted felons), they can vote and these enfranchised peoples have power to influence the direction of this society, as well as the way it functions.

Accomodative politics usurps American liberties because it takes away from those who are, as I've previously stated, hard-working and law-abiding - i.e., common people who love God and who love America and who love their families. Bureaucrats, merchant-elites, Hollywood media-elites, Manhattanite International Relations elites and the like, all gain power from having widespread influence. The bureaucrats pander to the widest constituencies possible in order to get the most votes. Merchants advertise in the most provocative manner and in the form that segregates populations into 'target demographics' to create the deepest possible penetration (for market share, brand loyalty, etc.). Hollywood media elites want the broadest appeal for sales, etc. And finally, the International Relations elites want power by association with world leaders for influence, etc. so their agenda is, as the aforementioned, accommodative.

Now the phenomenon of accommodation goes like this: once you give specific groups of people special status and accommodate them accordingly, you are importing trouble. People, unless they are a homogenous collective, bring with them various worldviews, perspectives, belief systems, et cetera, according to the normative traditions attending their respective nationalities*. Diverse perspectives and diverse intellectual thought can add to the creative genius of society and be very productive, if harnessed properly – i.e., if used toward moral ends. It's just as the proverbial encounter states: "Will [one] use power for good or for evil?" However, unrestrained 'diversity' is deviant and counterproductive because it subverts the common order and perverts the collective good (which can take many forms – e.g., economy, politics, military/police protection, culture, etc.).

Once you accommodate people by giving them special liberties, it takes [liberties] away from those who aren't special. And when people are given free reign to exercise liberties, they bring their culture and their traditions and their natural inclinations with them. So, essentially what occurs is we have many different nations in the United States of America that all have special privileges to, basically, act and believe in whatever manner they see fit. The universal rights to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' outlined in our frame of government include specific statutes declaring the ability [of every person] to speak out, gather peacefully, write and even criticize the government, among other things. These rights are good, but when combined with 'special privileges' for special demographic groups, we have an adverse affect which disallows those without special privileges to practice those same rights and enjoy those same liberties to the same extent (special status creates a supra-class and a sub-class partition with a concomitant order based on those status differences). In economic terms, the now underprivileged get 'crowded out', as it were. And with a loss of privileges comes a loss of moral and political status in society. When you gradually disenfranchise a specific class, you are, in effect, negating the traditions and the order of that specific class.

Back to the point I was making about accommodation: In the main, what we have here is an accommodation of specific people groups and their traditions at the expense of America's host society's liberties and, thereby, America's host society's traditions. So America is slipping into moral decrepitude due to the overindulgence of demographics that pull us away from God, the Bible, et cetera. By accommodating the will of pagans, as it were, we are allowing for the slippage, for lack of a better word, of our own morals, or own ethics, our own traditions, our own order, our own strength – which is God's will, God's traditions, Gods' order, God's ethics, God's morals and God's strength. To the extent we allow non-Christians to lead us astray, God will continue to let America fall into the pits of despair and hopelessness. However, upon a quickening and revival (i.e., enlightenment in the truth of our situation and responsibility to correct it), we can be surely turned around and set on solid ground.

*I say nationality specifically for the purpose of this argument which seeks to set [multiculturalism] in context of the multi-ethnic, multi-traditional realm in which we deal in our day-to-day realities in the civilized world.